Dehairing machine



June 14, 1938. J. zABEL.

DEHAIRING MACHINE Filed Aug. '2, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 :fac ob 2 o. lo e l lNvEN-roR EY mm EAA ATTORNEY June 14, 193s, J, BEL 2,120,793

DEHAIRING MACHINE Filed Aug. 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Shed'l 2 INVENTOR 'JQ c o b Z abel KM ATTORNEY Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES OFFICE DEHAIRING MACHINE Jacob Zabel, Newark, N. J.

Application August 2, 1934, Serial No. 738,09*? 13 Claims. (orne- 2.6)

My invention relates to improvements in fur working machinery and has reference particularly to the type of. machine used in dehairing or in cutting away the stiff-hairs from among the soft fur on a pelt.

The present invention has for its object to provide means for holding skins on a carrier during their progress past the cutting blades and for guiding the carrier and supporting the skins after the dehairing operation has been completed.

It is the usual practice in machines of this character to secure the pelts onto a travelling carrier by means of pins which are of the ordinary straight variety and which are inserted by hand while the carrier is in motion. The hand operation of pinning each pelt in position on the carrier is very slow even when practiced by exu perienced operators and it has been found that much greater speeds could be obtained in the operation of the machine if the pelts could be attached more quickly. The first step contemplated to meet the situation was to provide the carrier with permanent means to engage and hold skins in position during their travel under the dehairing knives, and the means consisted principally in pins having the main portions permanently affixed in the carrier while the points projected outwardly to receive and engage the back of the pelt. Due to certain peculiarities in dehairing machines, if the points were allowed to project too far beyond the surface of the carrier they would interfere with the operation of the cutting or dehairing knives.

In my copending application for Letters Patent No. 710,035 led February 6, 1934, I have described a carrier provided with pins which operate satisfactorily and do not interfere with the operation of the knives, However, for certain types of work, even the arrangement of pins on the carrier of the earlier device is not so efficient as it might be and in order to meet all possible conditions in dehairing machines, I devised a carrier provided with a certain arrangement of pins and naps, whereby the pelt is merely placed upon the moving carrier with the head portion under the flap in order to effect a temporary connection between pelt and carrier. In addition to an extremely efficient carrier my invention contemplates a holder and guide for the carrier at the cutting or dehairing end of the machine and in the following specication and claims I describe one embodiment of my invention which is also illustratively exemplied in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of.` the cutting end of my improved dehairing machine; Figure 2 is a substantially longitudinal sectional View taken on lines 2-2 of Figure l; Figure 3 is a plan view of a section of the carrier showing a peliV in place; Figure 4 is an enlarged plan View of the carrier and pins; Figure 5 is a substantially transverse sectional view taken on lines of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a pin used on the carrier; Figure 'l is a plan View of a section of the carrier provided with a inodied form of fiap; Figure 8 is a substantially transverse sectional View of, a guide bar showing upper and lower rollers to support the carrier.

Referring to the drawings and particularly Figures .l and 2, Il! denotes the side frames or standards of a dehairing machine and II the angle brackets mounted on the standards IIJat the dehairing end of the machine. Disposed between the brackets i I and attached thereto at its ends is a guide bar l2 which comprises a body portion and a tapered or chiseled edge I3 along its forward side. Along the under side of the body portion of the bar is a channel I4 in which a series of alined rollers I5 are mounted, the lower peripheral surfaces of which project beyond the under surface of the bar. Suitable bearings l2@ are carried by opposite ends of the bar l2 and are adapted to support the opposite ends of a metal roller I6 which is positioned directly in back of the rear wall of thel bar and which is of a diameter greater than the thick,- ness of the bar so as to bring its upper and lower peripheral surfaces beyond the top and under surfaces of the bar, The bar I2 is disposed preferably at an inclination with respect to the longitudinal axis of. the machine, the tapered iront edge being disposed towards the front and on the lower elevation. A second roller I1 is mounted between the brackets II and arranged below and rearwardly of the roller I6, the periphery of the roller Il being covered with rubber or felt i8.

A carrier I3 is supported at its forward end about the bar I2 and comprises an endless belt of canvas or other suitable material, the upper strand of which travels towards the front over the roller It and then over the upper surface of the bar I2 until it reaches the tapered edge where it turns about the latter and travels rearwardly over the series of rollers l5 and then upwardly at an angle to the surface of the second roller Il. The carrier I 9 at its opposite end is supported upon'a roller 2li which is carried between the standards lt?. In order to prevent the pelt from dropping away from the under surface of the carrier as its under strand passes to the rear, the second roller I1 carries the forward ends of a series of string supports 2|, each being a continuous piece and receiving support at the rear about a grooved roller 2la positioned beneath the roller 20. The pelts arranged on the carrier are held against the latter and caused to engage the fastening means, used to attach the pelts to the carrier, by means of a rubber roller 22, mounted at its ends in a pair of arms 23. These arms 23 are mounted to swing about a rod 24 towards the tapered upper surface of the bar l2, resilient means in the form of a coiled spring 25 being used to yieldably urge the roller 22 against the pelt and carrier. The ends of the bar 24 are supported in brackets 26 adjustably mounted on the brackets Il.

The usual rotary cutter 21, revolving brush 28 and holder 29 are used for the purpose of manipulating the fur and removing the stiff hairs of the pelt as the latter passes about the tapered edge of the bar l2.

Referring now to the carrier I9, and particularly to Figures 3 to 6 inclusive, the carrier is provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced naps 3Q, two thereof being arranged side by side and at an angle to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the carrier. Each flap 3B consists of a relatively narrow length of material stitched to the carrier along one of its longer sides, the attached side being the leading edge of the flap, i. e., the leading edge with respect to the direction of movement of the carrier, Arranged on the carrier in spaces disposed beneath the trailing end of each flap are a plurality of pins or fastening means 3l. A group of similar pins 3l arranged transversely of the carrier and spaced rearwardly of the flaps 30 the space covered by the pins being sufficient to embrace any normal size pelt.

Each pinfSl, as illustrated in Figures 4, and 6 is a U-shaped length of wire, one arm being shorter than the other and having the closed end bent to bring the shorter arm on an elevation slightly above the longer arm. The fre'e ends of each arm are bent upwardly at right angles and tapered to form points 32.

The carrier in the present instance is a single layer of material and each pin 3! is mounted therein by inserting the longer arm through the material in a direction parallel with the transverse line of the carrier and then projecting the point 32 upwardly through the latter, as shown in Figure 6. The shorter arm of the pin 3| is allowed to rest upon the surface of the carrier with its point 32 projecting upright. A small patch 32a of adhesive tape or other suitable material is placed over the shorter arm of the pin and a row of stitching 33 runs through the carrier longitudinally thereof to engage the longer arms in one line and the patch and shorter arms in another line.

According to the modified ap 34 illustratively exemplified in Figure 7, the trailing side of the material is cut to form an inverted V-shape, so as to allow a greater portion of the neck portion of the pelt to be exposed to the cutting operation.

Another modication is illustrated in Figure 8; wherein the guide bar l2 is provided with a seriesof alined grooves 35 milled out of its upper inclined surface, to accommodate rollers 3E which support the upper strand of the carrier along the bar l2 and aid the material to ride more easily over the bar.

In the operation of the device, the machine is set in motion and the carrier I9 caused to travel intermittently in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3. The operator standing at one end of the machine places a pelt upon the carrier, arranging the neck portion beneath the flap 3U and upon the upstanding points 32 of the underlying pins 3|. The tail portion of the pelt merely rests upon the rearward group of pins. In this position thel pelt being carried by the carrier l 9 travels towards the roller I6 and then onto the guiding bar l2. When the pelt passes under the resiliently operated roller 22, the roller presses the pelt down on the pins. Beyond the roller 22 the pelt moves around the tapered edge of the bar where it is subjected to the action of the brush 28 and cutting unit 21, in the usual manner. It should be notedl at this step of the operation that the use of the flap enables the leading end of the pelt to be brought under the action of the revolving brush 28 without fear of the latters pulling or otherwise dislodging the pelt and causing it to become enmeshed with the various adjacent moving parts. After passing the dehairing mechanism the pelt clings to the carrier which moves over rollers I 5, thereby reducing the friction between the guide bar and the moving material and which passes rearwardly over roller I1 to turn upwardly again about the rear roller 20. The pelt is held to the carrier between rollers ll and 20 by means of the string supports 2 i. The dehaired pelt is stripped from the carrier beyond the rollers 20 and Zla.

, It has been found that with certain types of pelts the pins 3l may be entirely omitted from the carrier, the flap being sufficient to hold the pelt in place and to lead it about the edge of the guide bar and into position before the dehairing knife.

Having now described my 'invention' and the manner in which the same operates, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. In a dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt, and guiding means supporting one end of the carrier and having an edge over which the carrier and pelt make a sharp turn to cause the stiff hairs to stand out from the softer fur on the pelt, a roller carried in the underside of the guiding means back of the edge thereof to hold the carrier away from the edge after passing about the latter and spring pressed resilient means operating adjacent the edge of the guiding means and in advance of the point of operation of the said roller, to press the pelt against the carrier just before the pelt passes about the said edge.

2. In aV dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt, a guide bar adapted to support one end of the carrier, the bar being fixed in the machine and provided with a tapered portion over which the carrier makes a sharp turn to cause the stiff hairs of the pelt to stand out, and a resiliently supported smooth surface rubber roller urged in the direction of the bar to press the pelt against the carrier just short of the sharp turn.-

3. In a dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt, upright pin points arranged on the carrier to engage the pelt, a guide bar fixed in position to support one end of the carrier and pro-vided With an edge about which the carrier makes a sharp turn to cause the stiff hairs of the pelt to stand out, and a resiliently actuated roller urged against the pelt to cause the pins of the carrier to engage into the pelt.

4. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 3,

in which the pins each comprise a U-shaped member having its free ends pointed and disposed upright with respect to the arms of the pin.

5. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 3, in which the pins each comprise a U-shaped member having one arm longer than the other, the free ends of each arm being pointed and turned upright.

6. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 3, in which the pins each comprise a U-shaped member having one arm longer than the other, the free ends of the arms being pointed and turned upright, and in which the shorter arm is arranged on the upper surface of the carrier and the longer arm along the under surface, the arms of each pin being arranged transversely of the direction of movement of the carrier, a patch of material arranged over the shorter arm, and rows of stitching engaging the arms of the pins in xed position on the carrier.

' 7. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 3, including a roller to support the opposite end of the carrier, and means disposed to move with the carrier along its under strand to hold the pelt in engagement with the carrier after leaving the supporting bar.

8. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 3, including a roller to support the opposite end of the carrier, and a plurality of endless bands moving with the under strand of the carrier beyond the supporting bar to hold the pelts against the carrier.

9. In a dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt and a plurality of barbs all pointing perpendicular from the carrier for engaging the pelt.

10. In a dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt and a plurality of barbs al1 pointing perpendicular from the carrier for engaging the pelt, each barb being disposed upright from an arm of a U-shaped member, the arms of each member being of diierent lengths.

11. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 9, including flaps attached along one side to the carrier to overlie a portion of the pelt in its position on the carrier.

12. A dehairing machine, as claimed in claim 9, including flaps comprising strips of material disposed on the carrier at an angle to the direction of movement of the latter and attached thereto along the leading side.

13. In a dehairing machine, a carrier for moving a pelt and a guiding bar over which one end of the carrier and pelt is caused to make a sharp turn, said bar b-eing provided with rollers arranged in its surfaces on opposite sides of the sharp turn to reduce friction between the guide bar and carrier.

JACOB ZABEL. 

